The Fleischer Studios expert returns to the program after a nine-year break! Ray will bediscussing his brand new book, "The Art and Inventions of Max Fleischer: American AnimationPioneer". This is the ultimate written history that fans have been clamoring for! It'schock full of great photographs (many in color!), and Ray's accompanying text tells theentire story of the Fleischer empire from Max's early work at the Bray studios to forminghis own company, and the "brotherly love" between Max and Dave that dissolved once the studiomoved to Miami. We'll focus on some key issues this time like Max's contract with Paramountthat eventually did him in, his real relationships with his brothers, the switch fromsilent cartoons to talkies, and much more. PLUS - WE'LL DO A BONUS TV BROADCAST after theaudio show. Ray has promised to bring some really rare animated and live action shortsto screen during the television show! We'll also read your e-mails, so don't miss this one!

Final regular audio show for that matter - starting next week with show #500 every show will be simulcast (audio/video) and it will also reduce to a bi-weekly schedule from this point forward. The show will still have the same format like it has been for the past 10 1/2 years or so.

For those that missed it, here is the list of the films that Ray showed:

"The Max Fleischer Animation Studios" (1939)- A behind the scene documentary in color."The Clown's Pup" (1919)- The earliest existing Inkwell short"Koko Baffles the Bulls" (1926)- Out of the Inkwell "Has Anybody Here Seen Kelly?" (1926)- A sound Screen Song. Both this and the previous short were sourced from one of Ray's DVDs. "If We Lived in the Moon" (1918)- A live-action "Popular Science" short"Imaging That!- The Swift" (mid-late '50's)- An unrealized TV pilot by Max Fleischer"You Gotta Eat Your Spinach, Baby"- Sung by Mae Questel with clips from many Fleischer shorts as put together by Ray.

Since there is interest in my appearance on STU'S SHOW last week, it's only fair that I set the record straight on a couple of issue. While the subject was Fleischer and my book, I did briefly refer to the TOBY issue, even though it was off topic. Not only were the spelling errors corrected, the technical issues have been addressed, and we have since been working on digitally restoring the film transfers with a proposed new release.

The December TOBY THE PUP release was a market test Christmas Special, for 12 days. This was a chance thing being our first venture into Blu-ray, and a pioneering effort. There was a learning curve and a great deal of frustration similar to what Mr. Stanchfield has experienced, and I have had private discussions with him on these matters.

It should be understood that I was not the active director of Inkwell Images for the previous two years since the majority of my energies have been focused on family issues and my book that was nearing publication. Since January 1st, I have been reinstated as President of Inkwell Images by unanimous votes from the stock holders. We are now going forward, as we approach our 20th year.

As for my "arrogant" responses to Thad's rants, it should not be surprising that I should come to my own defense. It is one thing to make "fair and truthful" criticisms," but another to exaggerate and fabricate under a personal agenda, especially when it comes to his claims that I censored the cartoons. This is not true. They came that way. And Mark Kausler's remark on this was in reference to what was done to the print that was used in the transfer that came from Lobster Films. Considering how rare these cartoons are, what source has Thad seen to make the comparison since these seem to be the only sources? So this remark that I censored the cartoons is false.

The frame grab appears altered to further support an agenda. The Cartoons on Film frame is flat and vignetted where ours is balanced when properly displayed. It certainly had a balanced gray range and appeared sharp on my 55" digital screen and does NOT look like the higher contrast example posted as coming from our release. While such things can seem subjective, Thad seemed to go out of his way to find flaws in this area that simply are not there. But let's bring this back to reality.

These are orphaned films that have been abused. And a great deal of work is required to make them watchable again. This we can both agree upon, and can only hope we can be supportive of each other in this monumental and time-consuming work. And because of this, there is room for others in this arena. We are among them, and have been for nearly two decades.

Again, the technical and spelling errors have been addressed, and there has been a massive management change in Inkwell. What I concluded in my response, which is on display for all to see on Amazon was that Thad was the only one who has complained so bitterly about the release, and I offered him a full refund since it was such a bad experience for him. This is not being "arrogant." This is being overly gracious and generous in the face of rudeness. This is also good Customer Service.

I purchased this set soon after release. There was no indication anywhere of this being a "test" release that I saw.

I can vouch for the accuracy of Thad's review on the set's issues, save that the Blu-ray video is encoded at 30 fps instead of 60 (still wrong - every fourth film frame is duplicated, adding unnecessary judder and disc space usage, when both Blu-ray and DVD support 24 fps), and that the DVD is also poorly mastered (the films are framed and encoded in anamorphic 16:9 format, resulting in needless loss of horizontal resolution, when they should have been framed and encoded in 4:3 format, plus 30 fps is used instead of 24 fps here as well). I've compared Thad's frame grabs to the Blu-ray on my computer, and they accurately represent the brightness/contrast and excessive compression of the frames as encoded on the Blu-ray.

Circus Time contains cuts that were clearly made in the digital realm, the cut where the lion starts to pull down Toby's pants being especially obvious. The Milkman is missing a substantial chunk from the barn dance portion of the cartoon, again clearly a digital edit. Even the poor-quality copy that has been on YouTube for a while contains some of the missing footage, while the Cartoon Roots version contains all of it. So, no, Ray, these cartoons did not come that way, unless UCLA and Lobster performed the edits before sending them to you, and if so, why did you not catch them? You should know the difference between a film splice and a digital edit.

Other notes: The Museum has the opening music from Circus Time, even though the film element used had the original opening music. Down South has the closing music from The Milkman, not the music heard here. Regarding the fake titles, one can compare them to the original cards for Circus Time to see how far off the mark they are (they actually appear to be based on someone's fake openings that showed up on Internet video sites a while ago), and what appears to be a still of an original Toby end title can be seen at the end of this video.

I'm not qualified to vouch one way or the other for the claim that this censorship is an Inkwell trademark/long-standing problem, but that aside, Thad's review and his responses to your comments certainly seem fair to me, and I don't see reason to think he has an agenda against you (why would he?). Instead of being so defensive over this matter, you should have been upfront about it, fixed the problems, and offered replacements to those who want them. However, your responses on Thad's blog, on Amazon, and here are on display for all to see, alright, and they don't do your credibility any favors.

Even if, as you say, the poor mastering has been fixed by now, this does nothing for those of us who already have the older version. I'm not interested in buying the set all over again just to get what I should have gotten in the first place -- or closer to it, that is, since the censorship is still an outstanding issue -- especially considering your behavior over this matter.

With all that said, here's hoping your trademark application for "Toby the Pup" fails so there will be no obstructions to Steve or anyone else who might want to put out a good release (a likely outcome judging from its current status).

Zachary, thanks for outlining the deranged logic in Ray's responses. For what it's worth, I don't know Zachary, so it's good to know my complaints are shared and that others can spot poorly mastered discs for what they are.

I'm not sure what "agenda" Ray is talking about. While the Toby release is a horribly flawed presentation, his Fleischer book is quite good and a solid source of information on an important studio, and I'd recommend it. If the objective problems with the Toby set were corrected, I'd recommend that, too.

Originally Posted by: Zachary

I purchased this set soon after release. There was no indication anywhere of this being a "test" release that I saw.

Yeah, that's pretty much a flat-out lie. The first and only time this "test" was mentioned was in response to my postings. Remember, this is the same guy who thought it was perfectly ethical to review his own product (and slag on competitors and rivals) on Amazon. Maybe in his mind it was always a test release, and therefore it's reality. That's why I can't blame others for not posting about the issues with Toby no more than I can blame them for not engaging the crazy guy on the subway. But, sometimes, for the greater good, you have to.

Ray, would it hurt if you offer the disappointed folks that bought the Blu-Ray a free replacement disc of the so-called new versions (if your claims are true, that is)? Or is that easier said than done?

With all that said, here's hoping your trademark application for "Toby the Pup" fails so there will be no obstructions to Steve or anyone else who might want to put out a good release (a likely outcome judging from its current status).

Bizarrely, it looks as though the trademark for the name "Toby the Pup" was approved last month. Not sure why it wasn't completely thrown out for obvious reasons (lies were almost certainly told for it to make it that far), but rest assured any legal action taken over an 80 year-old public domain character can be directed to the wastebasket. I wonder how much money was wasted on this shit show? The botched mastering costs (which will never be fixed), along with the trademark application fee, will definitely never be made back on a title that might sell 50 copies at best. Interestingly, Inkwell Images' trademark expired ages ago. But then, why would you want to protect a trademark that guarantees a flawed product?

Hey Thad, I checked the information on the official USPTO site again (http://tsdr.uspto.gov/#c...;searchType=statusSearch) and it wasn't registered. Ray submitted an amendment in June, updating the first-use date and supplying a "specimen" consisting of the front cover of the Blu-ray set to demonstrate use. However, he still did not formally respond as required to the office action issued in December, and consequently the application is officially abandoned as of July 10.

As for the "Inkwell Images" trademark, a search on the Trademark Electronic Search System (http://tmsearch.uspto.gov/) turned up two dead registrations (the most recent one cancelled at the end of last month) and a recently filed application for a new registration with expanded goods and services.

Hey Thad, I checked the information on the official USPTO site again (http://tsdr.uspto.gov/#c...;searchType=statusSearch) and it wasn't registered. Ray submitted an amendment in June, updating the first-use date and supplying a "specimen" consisting of the front cover of the Blu-ray set to demonstrate use. However, he still did not formally respond as required to the office action issued in December, and consequently the application is officially abandoned as of July 10.

As for the "Inkwell Images" trademark, a search on the Trademark Electronic Search System (http://tmsearch.uspto.gov/) turned up two dead registrations (the most recent one cancelled at the end of last month) and a recently filed application for a new registration with expanded goods and services.

Ah. That was updated after I had checked. I am glad to be wrong! Good triumphs over evil - the U.S. government actually doing its job for a change.

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